Ruth Morgan (October 12, 1870 – March 11, 1934) was an American peace activist during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Working as a manager at

Bellevue Hospital Bellevue Hospital (officially NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue and formerly known as Bellevue Hospital Center) is a hospital in New York City and the oldest public hospital in the United States. One of the largest hospitals in the United States ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

during the early 1900s, she was placed in charge of the Bureau of Hospital Services operated by the

American Red Cross The American National Red Cross is a Nonprofit organization, nonprofit Humanitarianism, humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief, and disaster preparedness education in the United States. Clara Barton founded ...

in France during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. Evaluating the nursing care and social needs of the soldiers serving with the

American Expeditionary Forces The American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) was a formation of the United States Armed Forces on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front during World War I, composed mostly of units from the United States Army, U.S. Army. The AEF was establis ...

upon her arrival, she quickly determined that significant improvements were needed and established "Flying Squadrons" of nurses "to be sent 'flying' over France in motor cars to each mobile, evacuation or military hospital where any American soldiers, brigaded with the French, had been sent." Equipped with food and medicine for the soldiers, they also frequently served as translators between the soldiers and their French physicians since many of the Americans they were assisting did not speak French. Deeply affected by what she witnessed in France during that war, she rose to international prominence through her appointments during the 1920s to leadership positions with national and international advocacy organizations, including the

League of Nations The League of Nations (LN or LoN; , SdN) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920), Paris Peace ...

. Speaking to a gathering of women in 1925 as chair of the

National League of Women Voters The League of Women Voters (LWV) is a nonpartisan American nonprofit political organization. Founded in 1920, its ongoing major activities include registering voters, providing voter information, boosting voter turnout and advocating for voting ...

' committee on international cooperation, Morgan said:

"Our destinies are in our own hands.... If war goes on, it will be our own fault. We can no longer be deluded by the idea that such catastrophes are matters of fate. The establishment of peace is the responsibility of every woman in this room."

Formative years and family

Born in

Staatsburg, New York Staatsburg is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in Hyde Park, a town in Dutchess County, New York, United States. The population was 703 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Kiryas Joel–Poughkeepsie– Newburgh, NY Metropoli ...

on October 12, 1870, Ruth Morgan was a daughter of William Dare Morgan (1838-1887) and Angelica Livingston Hoyt (1847-1933) and the sister of

suffragists Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise is the right to vote in public, political elections and referendums (although the term is sometimes used for any right to vote). In some languages, and occasionally in English, the right to v ...

and social reformers

Geraldine Morgan Thompson Geraldine Livingston Morgan Thompson (1872–1967) was an American social reform pioneer who became known as the "First Lady of New Jersey" due to her philanthropic and social service activities in New Jersey. In 1912, she founded the Monmouth Coun ...

(1872-1967) and Margaret Lewis Morgan Norrie (1869-1927), the latter of whom was the eldest of the Morgan sisters and

eponym An eponym is a noun after which or for which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. Adjectives derived from the word ''eponym'' include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''. Eponyms are commonly used for time periods, places, innovati ...

of the

Margaret Lewis Norrie State Park Margaret Lewis Norrie State Park is a state park in Dutchess County, New York in the United States. The park is located on the east shore of the Hudson River in the Town of Hyde Park and also includes Esopus Island. Margaret Lewis Norrie ...

Dutchess County, New York Dutchess County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 295,911. The county seat is the city of Poughkeepsie. The county was created in 1683, one of New York's first twelve counties, and later o ...

. Their younger brother, journalist Gerald Morgan Sr. (1879-1948), reported on the Nazi invasion of Belgium for the ''New York Tribune'' during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Grandchildren of Morgan Lewis, the third governor of the State of New York who was a son of

Francis Lewis Francis Lewis (March 21, 1713 – December 31, 1802) was an American merchant and a Founding Father of the United States. He was a signatory of the United States Declaration of Independence and Articles of Confederation as a representative of N ...

, a signer of the

United States Declaration of Independence The Declaration of Independence, formally The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen States of America in the original printing, is the founding document of the United States. On July 4, 1776, it was adopted unanimously by the Second Continen ...

, Margaret, Ruth, Geraldine, and Gerald Morgan grew up to become prominent members of society and civic leaders in their own right. Ruth Morgan received a private education at home through a governess hired by her parents, who were members of the Episcopal Church. When she was old enough to travel, she was sent for further education to the Convent of the Sacred Heart in

Tours Tours ( ; ) is the largest city in the region of Centre-Val de Loire, France. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Indre-et-Loire. The Communes of France, commune of Tours had 136,463 inhabita ...

, France. As young women, Ruth and Margaret Morgan joined the

Colony Club The Colony Club is a women-only private social club in New York City. Founded in 1903 by Florence Jaffray Harriman, wife of J. Borden Harriman, as the first social club established in New York City by and for women, it was modeled on simila ...

during its first years of operation, and actively helped to recruit

Eleanor Roosevelt Anna Eleanor Roosevelt ( ; October 11, 1884November 7, 1962) was an American political figure, diplomat, and activist. She was the longest-serving First Lady of the United States, first lady of the United States, during her husband Franklin D ...

and suffragist and conservationist

Rosalie Edge Rosalie Barrow Edge (November 3, 1877 – November 30, 1962) was an American environmentalist and suffragist. In 1929, she established the Emergency Conservation Committee to expose the conservation establishment's ineffectiveness and advocate ...

as new members to the club during the early 1900s.

Hospital career and activism

Employed as a manager at

, beginning sometime around 1905, Ruth Morgan continued to work in that capacity into the mid-1920s, dividing her residency time between her hometown of Staatsburg and Washington Square in the city. In 1917, she was appointed by New York City Mayor

John Purroy Mitchel John Purroy Mitchel (July 19, 1879 – July 6, 1918) was the 95th mayor of New York, in office from 1914 to 1917. At 34, he was the second-youngest mayor of the city, and was sometimes referred to as the "Boy Mayor of New York". Mitchel won t ...

to chair the Cooperative Committee of Women on Defense. During

, she was appointed as a high commissioner for the

and served in France. She is credited with the planning and implementation of "Flying Squadrons" of nurses who transported food and medicine by automobile to "mobile, evacuation or military hospital where any American soldiers, brigaded with the French, had been sent." Observed Morgan:

"Wounded and dying American soldiers were being placed in hospitals which were strange to them, and where they were not understood. Our men could not speak French. The French staffs could not talk English. Something had to be done. No one but the patients themselves will ever fully realize the tonic these women were…. Men who had gone over the top, who had become unconscious on the battle ground and were carried into a French hospital, woke out of their sick faint fearing they had been taken prisoner by the Germans. When they found they could not understand the language, they were sure they had been trapped…. When the flying squadrons reassured soldiers, they relieved the French physicians' curative task."

During the 1920s, Morgan chaired the

' department of international cooperation for the prevention of war. Among the agencies and initiatives supported during her tenure were the

World Court The International Court of Justice (ICJ; , CIJ), or colloquially the World Court, is the only international court that adjudicates general disputes between nations, and gives advisory opinions on international legal issues as interpretati ...

in 1924 and the Kellogg-Briand Pact in 1928. In 1921, she chaired the Women's Council on the Limitation of Armaments, which was held in Washington, D.C. from November 12, 1921, to February 6, 1922, as part of the

Washington Naval Conference The Washington Naval Conference (or the Washington Conference on the Limitation of Armament) was a disarmament conference called by the United States and held in Washington, D.C., from November 12, 1921, to February 6, 1922. It was conducted out ...

that resulted in the signing of the

Washington Naval Treaty The Washington Naval Treaty, also known as the Five-Power Treaty, was signed during 1922 among the major Allies of World War I, Allies of World War I, which agreed to prevent an arms race by limiting Navy, naval construction. It was negotiated at ...

. On April 19, 1922, Morgan presented the opening remarks at a highly publicized New York City League of Women Voters' event, during which she introduced Viscountess Nancy Witcher Langhorne Astor, the American-born, British politician who had become the first woman to be seated as a Member of Parliament in the United Kingdom. Lady Astor, who had returned to America to participate as a delegate to the

Pan-American Conference of Women Pan-American Conference of Women occurred in Baltimore, Maryland in 1922. It was held in connection with the third annual convention of the League of Women Voters, National League of Women Voters in Baltimore on April 20 to 29, 1922. Cooperating ...

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

, Maryland from April 20 to 29, gave a pre-conference address to the New York audience, which included

Carrie Chapman Catt Carrie Chapman Catt (born Carrie Clinton Lane; January 9, 1859#Fowler, Fowler, p. 3 – March 9, 1947) was an American women's suffrage leader who campaigned for the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which gave U.S. women t ...

and other leading women's rights activists, as well as Morgan's fellow Colony Club members, civic leaders and prominent members of society. In early 1925, Morgan participated in the

Conference in

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

, Switzerland. In 1926, she chaired the

International Alliance of Women The International Alliance of Women (IAW; , AIF) is an international non-governmental organization that works to promote women's rights and gender equality. It was historically the main international organization that campaigned for women's suff ...

's committee for peace and a League of Nations committee in Geneva. In 1932, she was one of six hundred women who participated as delegates to the five-day National League of Women Voters' convention in

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

, Michigan. These delegates were appointed and authorized "to decide the participation in government...attempted during the next two years by their constituent State or local leagues in forty-two States, the District of Columbia and Hawaii."

Illness, death and interment

Morgan fell ill after chairing a conference hosted by the National Committee on the Cause and Cure of War in Washington, D.C. in January 1934. She died at the age of sixty-three at her home in Manhattan on March 11, 1934. Following funeral services at Grace Episcopal Church in Manhattan on March 13, which were attended by her family and friends, including U.S. Secretary of Labor

Frances Perkins Frances Perkins (born Fannie Coralie Perkins; April 10, 1880 – May 14, 1965) was an American workers-rights advocate who served as the fourth United States Secretary of Labor from 1933 to 1945, the longest serving in that position. A member o ...

and

Sara Roosevelt Sara Ann Roosevelt ( Delano; September 21, 1854 – September 7, 1941) was the second wife of James Roosevelt I (from 1880), the mother of Franklin D. Roosevelt, the 32nd President of the United States and her only child, and subsequently th ...

, the mother of U.S. President

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...

, Morgan was interred in the Morgan family's mausoleum at the Saint James Episcopal Churchyard in Hyde Park, New York.

Social and political affiliations

Morgan was a member of multiple political and social organizations during her lifetime, including the:Campbell, "Biographical Sketch of Margaret Lewis Morgan Norrie," in ''Women and Social Movements in the United States, 1600-2000'', Alexander Street. * Colony Club (member and president); and * League of Women Voters (third and first vice president).

References

External links